


I Used To Make You Smile, If Only For A While

by Sinfulpapillon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, and a ton of panicked idiots who don't notice the easy solution, and tons of one-sided (except not) relationships, implied potential polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 07:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10566570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinfulpapillon/pseuds/Sinfulpapillon
Summary: She was the first person he’d unmasked for and THIS was her response?





	

This was _not_ going according to plan.  
  
Okay, well, there’d never exactly _been_ a plan to this but Alya was sure that if there _had_ been one, it wouldn’t have included accidentally falling in love with _Adrien_ , of all people! This was bad. This was very, very, _very_ bad!  
  
And yet, there he was, standing before her with apprehension on his features, his eyes searching her face for any idea of just how she felt. Worry seemed to be taking over green eyes the longer he looked at her, which only gave Alya more and more of an idea of how panicked _she_ must be. Was she really that obvious? She must be freaking out more than she thought. Okay, well, freaking out would honestly be a bit of an understatement. With how optimistic she normally was, the panic of the situation had to be even worse for him. She was the first person he’d unmasked for and _this_ was her response?  
  
Alya, however, wasn’t freaked out over just _who_ Chat Noir was. Not when there was a much, _much_ bigger issue to worry about. Oh no. Oh nonono. How was she going to explain this?  
  
“I-I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner. I- um…it’s okay if you don’t want to keep going. I, ah…um….” Adrien’s hand flung itself behind his head, running his fingers through the strands nervously. “I still haven’t learned how to, um, date people…or tell how they might feel about these things. I…uh…”  
  
Before he could finish, Alya quickly slapped her hands onto his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye as she blurted out the source of her panic.  
  
“ _Marinette has a crush on you!_ ”  
  
How would Marinette feel about all of this? She had hoped her friend would tell him herself, but that had been before Alya found out she herself had already stolen Marinette’s chance to make the first move. Extreme times called for extreme measures..and this was indeed a problem he needed to understand. A problem they _both_ needed to figure out how to address.  
  
“….Oh.” Was all that escaped him as his own eyes went wide.  
  
“Yeah, _‘oh.’_ ” She replied, panic still rushing over her. Her hands rushed to her head as she tried to figure out how to address this. She really liked him, but would it be right to continue now that she knew who he was? Perhaps she should pull back from this one. That might be best. Marinette really deserved a better friend than this.  
  
Adrien bit his lip as he watched her pace for a bit before deflating in defeat. She turned to him, disappointment now painting her features. How would they deal with this? It was a complicated situation, to say the least. Marinette was a good friend, who had not only been wonderful to Alya but had helped Adrien feel better often as well. Maybe Ladybug had been _right_ about not revealing who they were. He was already regretting it.  
  
No wonder she would act weird around him. No wonder she seemed so nervous most of the time. No wonder she had made him a gift for Christmas. His eyes darted away as he stared off to the side, as if he hoped that would help him disappear. He didn’t want to give this up, but he also didn’t want to hurt Marinette’s feelings.  
  
“M-maybe we could keep it a secret?” He asked, hopefully. He was pretty good at secrets, after all. It wouldn’t be the first time.  
  
Alya glared at him suddenly, as if the very idea was offensive. “No! She deserves better than that!” She shook her head, holding up her hands. “Okay, I know perhaps it sounds logical to you to keep this a secret, since you’re a superhero, but that’s just not fair to Marinette. No, we need to figure out how to tell her. Or…” She looked away, now also seeming to wish she’d disappear. “….Or maybe we should stop.”  
  
Adrien stiffened.  “But I-” His eyes diverted again, now seeming to deflate. That’s not what he wanted. That was far from what he wanted. Ladybug didn’t seem interested, so when Alya had shown some interest of her own towards Chat, he’d been more than happy to give it a chance. Granted, he’d been apprehensive, feeling somewhat like he was betraying his partner. Yet, all logic said that he wasn’t. What started as slight teases on Alya’s part had lead to subtle flirtations, which lead to the girl having to make her interest obvious due to Adrien’s lack of experience. Despite his excessively flirty attitude, actual seduction was something that went over his head. It wasn’t something he expected from the blogger who had such an obvious preference for Ladybug. At least, he’d _thought_ she had an obvious preference. However, he found himself suddenly having solo interviews with her. Then those interviews turned to hanging out. Eventually, one day, they found themselves locking lips without even thinking. It just felt right, despite what their minds had been telling them a few months before. Now, these few months later, he found that he didn’t want to let go of this.

But perhaps  _ she _ did.   
  
“If….if you think it’s for the best.” He muttered, not meeting her eyes as he tried to not let his disappointment show through too much. He had never quite been good enough at hiding his feelings, though. Disappointment wasn’t exactly new to him, having felt more and more of it as he got older.    
  
His father hadn’t exactly been the best at making him feel any differently, after all.   
  
Alya looked him over, her own expression looking more crestfallen as she saw his disappointment. She knew what he must be feeling if he looked like that. She’d seen it too many times.    
  
“Cha- _ Adrien _ .” He felt her hand on his cheek before he could acknowledge her footfalls, having not even realized she’d been walking over. His gaze ended up linked with hers once more, despite his own internal protests to the eye contact. “You…really don’t want this to stop, do you?”   
  
“If you feel like it’s best, then I’ll make do.” He replied, giving her a bitter smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He could go back to how things were before, couldn’t he? For Marinette’s sake. It was for her. It was for his friend. THEIR friend.   
  
“Nuh  _ uh _ . You are  _ not _ foolin’ me, you dumbo.” She waved a finger in his face before giving him an encouraging smile and petting the top of his head. “We’ll…we’ll figure something out. Marinette means the world to me but…so do you, okay? She’s a tough girl, so I’m sure she’ll get over it if we approach it right!” 

Yes, there was still a bit of panic in her eyes, but seeing the enthusiastic side of her again helped Adrien visibly relax. He gave her a lopsided grin as he nodded in response.   
  
“Yeah. I’m sure we can figure something out and whatever happens, I’ll be here for you, okay?” Adrien defaulted to his own reassuring remarks as well now that he felt a bit more confident. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, that lopsided grin spreading out a bit more evenly. “And you’re strong, too, you know. Don’t forget that.”   
  
Although his grin filled her with a now familiar warmth, she couldn't help but feel all the worse for it.  Why did he have to be so encouraging? Why did she have to push him into thinking about himself so much? She felt like she needed to be there just to keep him from being too selfless for his own happiness. Why did he have to be flawed in all the ways that she was perfect at helping with? This was gonna be so complicated. Marinette meant so, so much to her. More than she had ever planned to mention to anyone. Though, maybe it was about time she came clean about…Maybe.   
  
She kept her smile up, giving him a fierce nod before leaning in to give him a soft kiss. She was afraid of what would happen next, but they could at least try to enjoy the rest of the night.   
  
School wasn’t until tomorrow, after all.   
  
—-   
  
Marinette could tell there was a tension in the classroom. Especially from Alya. In comparison to how she’d been for the past several months, Alya seemed to have turned a complete 180. She’d been absolutely ecstatic and possibly even daydream-y lately. Enough so that (dare she say it?) Marinette suspected a bit of  _ puppy love _ .   
  
She hadn’t been sure how to approach it, however. And anytime she seemed to get close, Alya had a way of distracting her (perhaps  _ too _ well). Her best friend definitely knew her so well that it wasn’t exactly hard. Just putting anything Adrien-related in front of her was sure to make her forget most anything else that was going on.   
  
But now Alya seemed so tense and quiet that Marinette couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done something wrong. Had she forgotten something important? Missed something that Alya would expect her to notice? She found herself biting at her nails briefly as she tried to push down her own panic. Oh god, her observation skills had never quite been as good as Alya’s. Surely, she’d missed something, right? Something important. Something-   
  
“Hey, Marinette.” Alya started, causing Marinette to practically jump out of her seat. After she seemed to settle down enough to work a giant grin on her face, Marinette simply gave her an over-enthusiastic nod to indicate she could go on.

Alya knew those nervous looks all too well from her best friend. Was she really being that obvious? Alya felt her own nervousness rising again. Guh, this was not a feeling she was okay with.  _ Alright, get your head on straight, Alya. You can do this! _ She scolded herself.   
  
“Girl, calm  _ down! _ I just wanna talk to you in private. I’ve got a bit of something to tell you but it can’t be around…someone.” She darted her eyes over to Adrien before raising her eyebrows a bit. “Got me?” She had to keep an upbeat tone or else Marinette might freak out even worse. She needed to keep her from worrying excessively beforehand and stay calm so they could approach the subject as smoothly as possible. At least, Alya hoped that would be the best way to do this. It wasn’t exactly territory she was familiar with. She hoped she’d come up with a good enough cover story too. She could only try to make this happen with as few hiccups as possible.    
  
Marinette glanced over before nodding quickly, her own worries seeming to disappear overall. If Alya said she should be calm, it must not be too bad. Besides, it sounded like it might be about Adrien! She could feel herself getting giddy pre-emptively. Ohhh, she couldn’t wait!

The happier Marinette seemed to get, however, the more Alya felt she was digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole.

\----

“Dude, when are you gonna tell me what’s up with you today?” Nino waved a hand in front of Adrien’s face, hoping to snap him out of the daze he’d been in all day. “I swear, if your dad did something again…”

“No, it’s not that, Nino.” Adrien replied, giving him a small smile in response. “Just...got a lot to think about right now. That’s all.” He sighed, his eyes closing as he glanced in the direction he’d seen Alya and Marinette run off to.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Nino muttered, leaning in more as he wrapped an arm casually around his friend’s shoulders. “I’m always here for you, Adrien.”

His friend’s smile returned, a nod following soon after. “Thanks. I just...I guess, well...There’s a girl I like,and she...well...it turns out that  _ her _ friend likes me and it could be...really complicated.”

Nino felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. He knew he had to hide it, however, and keep up his supportive smile. His friend deserved that. His  _ friend _ deserved it. He had to keep reminding himself of that. Now more than ever. His mind immediately went to a pair of girls who just happened to fit that dynamic. After what Alya told him when they were locked into that cage together, he honestly hoped it wasn’t them Adrien was referring to. Not only would Nino himself be hurt by this (though he had already prepared himself for this pain  _ long  _ ago), that would mean Marinette would be too. He’d have to watch out for that. If his fears were right, she may need a friend that  _ wasn’t _ the two she’d been hurt by. 

_ He _ might need one too.

“That sounds  _ messed up _ , dude.” Nino replied simply, and gave him a concerned frown. “Will her friend be okay? Will  _ you? _ ”

“I think so. Well, I don’t really  _ know _ . It’s not really something I’ve dealt with before, so…” Adrien held his hands up with a slight shrug, making sure to not push Nino’s arm away with the action. “And I have no clue if I should do anything or just let  _ them _ talk it out or what.”

“May be best to let the girls talk it out, you know? I bet it’ll go better than you think.” Truthfully, Nino had no clue, but figured it was best to keep Adrien’s attitude positive. This could be a rough ride for  _ everyone _ . 

\----

Once Alya had guided Marinette somewhere more secluded, she took a deep breath before facing her. 

Why did she have to look so excited right now? And that adorable smile she’d get was so bright and so gorgeous… Alya really didn’t want to ruin it.

“I have something important to tell you, but...it may take some explaining.” She started, realizing how nervous she sounded immediately after saying it. When that adorable smile faltered, she knew that it wasn’t just in her head either. She definitely sounded nervous.  _ Great. Good start, Alya. This is gonna go so smoothly. _ Her own thoughts weren’t even gonna be forgiving during this.

_ Okay, calm down. Maybe think of it how you would a news report. Start from the beginning.  _

“I...had a crush on you. Okay, maybe still do, but I knew you liked Adrien more so I just…”

“Woah, wait, you  _ what? _ ” Marinette interrupted, waving her hands spastically in a panic before they landed on her head. “You had a crush on  _ me? _ Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my gosh,  _ I’m so sorry! _ ”

Alya rubbed her arm a bit nervously, staring down at the ground. She hated feeling this insecure. “I mean, you know, I pushed it down like anyone would. I knew you wanted to be with Adrien and since you only showed interest in him I figured you probably aren’t into girls....”

“Alya, what have I said about your assumptions? You never  _ asked! _ And regardless, If I’d known, I wouldn’t have put you through all my…. _ pining _ .” Marinette’s hands ended up settling together in front of her, nervously fidgeting as guilt began to wash over her. “I just...if you liked me, I... why you would encourage my crush on Adrien so much. Didn’t it...hurt?”

Alya sighed, knowing this guilt Marinette felt was going to just lead to an even worse plummet in mood once she finished what all she had to say. This was going to just get worse and worse, she was sure. “I...liked seeing your smile, Marinette. You were just so happy anytime I brought you something new about him. And... I felt like if you’d just speak up and get with him, maybe you’d  _ really  _ be happy instead of just little bursts, you know?”

Despite the guilty look in Marinette’s eyes, there was a bit of a blush that was spreading across her cheeks at the response. A tiny bittersweet smile took hold before the guilt ran over her once more. “M-maybe if I’d just...told him...I would’ve gotten the rejection I was bound to get. I just...didn’t want to do it when I wasn’t confident and ruin my chances, you know?” Maybe she would have been able to be with her if things didn’t work out, anyway. If she’d just known, maybe she’d probably have been able to go through with asking him since there would still be a way to feel better after.

Oh no. Alya really needed to just rip the bandaid off this one. 

“I  _ already _ ruined your chances!” Alya blurted out suddenly, before immediately wishing she had a better way to say it. She needed to just get to the point of this conversation though and get it over with.

“W-what do you mean?”  Marinette replied, not quite sure if she’d heard Alya correctly. Or, perhaps, she simply  _ wished  _ she hadn’t.

“I couldn’t be with you, so I started looking into other options. I started, well, looking into, uh, online dating. I found someone I liked and it just went from there, but I only found out yesterday who he was and just-” Alya groaned, exasperated. “It was  _ Adrien _ .”

_ Oh. _ Marinette felt the words drop on her like a ton of bricks. She couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

Yet at the same time she was conflicted. This was her best friend. Her best friend who wouldn’t have even done this if Marinette had just  _ acted _ in the first place. If she’d just said something then maybe she would already be with one of them. But now...now she had neither.

“I...I see. Um…” Marinette licked her lips, not meeting Alya’s eyes, still unsure how to respond. She felt overwhelmed and confused. How  _ was _ she supposed to react? When Chloe and Lila showed attraction to Adrien it was easy to figure out how she felt and what to do, but this…

Alya was just as lost and conflicted as Marinette was in that moment, not sure what would be the better option. All options seemed bad. Well, besides one. But she was sure that would never happen. It just seemed too outlandish. Marinette possibly liking women was already hard to believe for her, but considering being with two people at once? And with the level of jealousy Marinette could have? Yeah, that didn’t seem likely at all.

“I...I could break it off. I wouldn’t want to lose you, Marinette. So, if that’s what would be best-” Alya started, immediately defaulting to the option that might make Marinette happiest. She didn’t want Marinette hurting at all. It hurt her too.

But so did seeing Adrien unhappy now. So what was she supposed to do? Even as she said the words she knew she would regret it.

“N-no. It’s okay!” Marinette gave her an awkward, yet hurt, smile while waving Alya’s suggestion off. “I had wondered why you seemed so lovestruck lately, actually. It was almost as if nothing would get the smile off your face, you know? S-so, you should stay with him, okay? Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine!” She chuckled nervously as she continued to wave, as if she didn’t even realize she was doing it anymore.

Alya sighed, moving forward to gently put Marinette’s hand down. “I want you to be happy too, Marinette. I want us all to be happy, you know? I wish I knew how to do that.” 

Neither of them dared to say the most obvious solution, scared that the other wouldn’t be okay with it. Not to mention, how would  _ Adrien _ feel if all three of them being together was put on the table?

It was just too impossible.

“I wish I knew how, too,” Marinette muttered, her eyes darting away again. “I...I should go home. There was a lot of homework today and I should go do that. Yeah.” She threw out the quick excuse before quickly grabbing her bag and rushing off, not giving Alya a chance to protest. 

It wasn’t like Alya could anyway. With a drawn out sigh, she grabbed her own things and began to head home herself. There was a huge likelihood that the both of them needed time to think. Alya knew she did, and as much as she hated it, she knew just how much Marinette needed the space.

\----

Marinette didn’t make it home, finding a discreet bench to sit on when she couldn’t hold back anymore. The tears flowed as she desperately attempted to wipe them all away before anyone would have the chance to see. She would hate to have to explain this to anyone, especially Chloe or Lila. She certainly hoped they wouldn’t pass by right now. She wasn’t sure if she could handle that at the moment.

“Yo, Marinette. What’s up?” 

The familiar voice was both welcome and not. Welcome because it wasn’t the worst person to come across her, but also unwelcome because anyone seeing her, especially someone she knew, sounded devastating right now. She hesitantly looked up at Nino, hoping she didn’t look  _ too _ bad. Though, with the sudden bit of a concerned frown on his face, she knew her hopes were for naught. “Hi, Nino.”

“Hey, what happened?” he asked, making a place for himself beside her on the bench. His concern was almost too much for Marinette, the girl pulling her legs onto the bench and tugging them closer to her torso.

“It’s...complicated,” she muttered, sniffling. 

“Hey, I  _ understand  _ complicated. Try me.” He gave her an encouraging hand on her shoulder, a soft smile gracing his features. After all, he was pretty sure he already knew. If he was right, they’d have a  _ lot  _ to talk about.

She glanced up at him, wiping at her tears again before taking a deep breath. “Adrien...likes someone else.” She sighed, trying to hold back another sob. “To make it worse, he likes my _ other _ crush and she likes  _ him _ .” She swallowed hard, trying not to sniffle too much but feeling like she was failing.

Nino blinked. Well, that made it even more complicated. She liked Alya too? Why hadn’t she said anything? After all, he knew Alya’s feelings for Marinette and always thought that would have worked out well enough. Just when he thought he had gotten over Marinette and Adrien, his buddy had to start falling for  _ his other crush  _ instead. This really was a mess. Well, either way, he had somewhat come to terms with things a bit already, this was more to help Marinette right now, not himself.

“I know how that is  _ so  _ bad, Marinette. Like,  _ all _ of my crushes like other people, you know? It’s tough and I’m sorry you have to deal with that too.” His hand gave her a slightly reassuring pat before he tugged out his phone, pulling up his music player. “But, you know what? I’ve got a few songs that helped  _ me _ feel better if you’d like to take a listen.” He plugged in his headset, nodding at her before tugging it off from around his neck and holding it out to her.  _ Just be yourself _ , Adrien had told him long before. It was a lot easier when he had someone to  _ comfort  _ instead of someone to ask out.

Marinette blinked, a small smile replacing the excessive crying. With a sniffle, she hesitantly reached out and took the headset from him, placing it over her ears. 

Nino lightly wiped away a few of her tears before he fully thought it through, surprised when Marinette seemed to welcome the gesture. Pushing down the nervousness that wanted to take over at rekindling feelings, Nino soon pulled out some tissues to hand her so she could properly clean herself up.

Marinette then leaned against him, her head falling onto his shoulder as she started to slowly relax to the music. Nino was suddenly glad she couldn’t see his face then, his skin now flushed from the simple action. He quickly tried to shove his feelings back down. Marinette needed a friend right now, not another love interest. To distract himself, he watched the music visualizer on his phone, hoping the different soundwave patterns for each song that came up would keep his attention off of the weight she added to his shoulder.

He was snapped out of it once she began to sit up, tugging the headphones off briefly to give him a more genuine smile. What caught him off guard, however, was when she placed her hand over his own. The blush he’d been forcing back the majority of the conversation came back full force, despite his internal protests. 

“Thanks, Nino. These songs are perfect,” she said, noticing his flushed features and looking away with a soft smile.

“Y-you’re welcome, Marinette,” Nino replied, cringing a little at his stutter. The giggle it prompted from Marinette, however, made Nino think his embarrassment just might be worth it.

This was  _ not  _ going according to plan.

However, they didn’t quite mind.

  
  
  
  



End file.
